One hundred days before Election Day, both parties are setting out how they intend to win control of Congress.

For Democrats, the Senate presents the steeper task. The math is demanding, and the party's hopes rest on a handful of races where it believes Republican incumbents can be challenged. In South Carolina, a Democratic candidate is running against Senator Lindsey Graham. In Maine, the party is preparing a campaign against Senator Susan Collins, a contest MSNBC described as one that could go either way. In Michigan, an open-seat race features a candidate who is both a physician and a progressive, a profile Democrats say they hope will resonate in a state they need to hold.

House Democratic leaders enter the stretch arguing that conditions favor their party. Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chair Suzan DelBene said her party has the momentum heading into the fall. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries marked the 100-day milestone by centering his party's message on what he called an affordability agenda, focused on the cost of living for households.

Republicans left Washington for the summer recess after a series of legislative setbacks in Congress, a backdrop Democrats have sought to use to their advantage, as reported by The Guardian.

Republicans offer a competing account, particularly about the House. A memo circulated by House Republicans described the party as being in what it called its strongest position ever at this point in a cycle, pointing to fundraising, recruitment, and the structure of the map as reasons for confidence. That assessment differs from the one Democrats describe, and each side is measuring the landscape by different criteria.

The Senate picture illustrates why the parties describe the same moment so differently. Democrats need to flip seats to take the chamber, and the seats in play sit in states with varied political leanings. A competitive candidate in one race does not ensure similar results across others. Newsweek, surveying the field 100 days out, described the Democratic path to the Senate as possible but narrow, dependent on winning contests where Republicans currently hold the advantage of incumbency.

The campaign has now entered its final phase. Candidates are returning to their states, leaders are refining their messages, and the arguments each party will carry into the fall are taking shape. Over the next 100 days, voters will decide the outcome.

References

1. 1.MSNBC — the Maine Senate race between the Democratic candidate and Susan Collins is characterized as one that could go either way
2. 2.The Guardian — Republicans left for summer recess after legislative setbacks in Congress
3. 3.Newsweek — assessment of the Democratic path to the Senate as possible but narrow
4. 4.Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee — Chair Suzan DelBene's statement on Democratic momentum
5. 5.Office of the House Minority Leader — Hakeem Jeffries's affordability agenda message
6. 6.House Republican memo — claim of the party's strongest-ever position at this point in a cycle